The Soul Thief (13 page)

“No,” Franklin said immediately. “Okay, maybe a little,” he said after another moment. “But I’ve always wanted you like this. I just hid it.”

Silence filled the car. Had he said too much?

But then Julie gave him another of those toe-curling kisses. “Me too,” she whispered against his lips.

Then she pulled back. “Now, shoo. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Franklin opened the car door, then turned back. “You know there’s only you, right? In my world?” he asked earnestly.

“I know, darling,” she replied, caressing his cheek. “And we can talk about that more tomorrow night.”

Franklin knew he was pushing it, but he still gave her one last light kiss on her nose before getting out of the car.

It was gonna feel like tomorrow night would never come, he knew.

It were also gonna come way too fast, for what he had in mind.

Ξ

Franklin spent the day working around the farm, taking away the stalks that the ghosts had trampled (and had it been the ghosts? Or had Dr. Traeger come and done it?) and putting them on the compost pile, applying WD-40 to that door hinge that kept squeaking, encouraging the yellow jackets who liked the southern eves of the house to go nest somewhere else.

He also did laundry and put fresh sheets on the bed. Just in case Julie changed her mind and came by that night anyway.

But he spent the night alone and slept much better than he had in a week or so, waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the world.

He came out to the kitchen to make sure everything was in order for dinner that night—he was making Mama’s spaghetti with his secret ingredient: grape jelly. He had candles out on the table in Mama’s fancy silver holders, wine glasses with a tasty box of white wine already chilling in the fridge, and he was gonna get out the good china.

He wasn’t about to propose to Julie—that was way too soon. But he did plan on telling her just how much he loved her.

No regular ghosts waited for him outside, but he still checked his bicycle before he got on it. The trip to the fruit and vegetable stand were easy that morning, as if Franklin had been doing his regular exercises.

Was he younger, now, after the doctor’s spell? How long would it last?

Karl gave Franklin a long look and just shook his head when he came pedaling up. For the first time, Franklin noticed that Karl had some white in his goatee, not just brown.

Karl was a young man, like Franklin, in his late twenties. How long would he feel young? How long before he started looking and acting old?

When they’d finished serving the morning rush, Karl came over to Franklin. “So you got stabbed,” he said dourly.

“Yeah,” Franklin said. “Damn doctor—Dr. Traeger—wanted a knife that I had.”

Franklin weren’t sure how much he should tell Karl about what he’d been up to.

“Well, you look better than you did all week last week,” Karl said.

Franklin nodded. “The loud, howling ghosts is finally gone.” If Franklin were some kind of Catholic or religious like what he’d seen on TV, he might have made the sign of the cross or something.
God rest their souls.

Though he didn’t know if those poor dead people had any souls left, or if the doctor had eaten them all up.

“There something else I should know about?” Karl asked after another moment.

“I’m not sure,” Franklin said honestly. His business with the doctor wasn’t finished yet, but he had no idea what they was gonna do next.

“Okay,” Karl said. “But you need more time off, you let me know.”

“Same for you,” Franklin said, since they was partners in this venture.

Karl gave him a big grin. “I might at that. There’s this new checker at the pharmacy…”

“You gonna actually ask her out?” Franklin asked. That had been Karl’s problem for a while now, admiring girls but not following through.

“I aim to,” Karl said. “Might need to leave early Friday.”

“Plan on it, then,” Franklin said. “I’ll hold down the fort here.”

“Thanks,” Karl said. “How you and Miss Julie doing?”

Franklin felt his cheeks flush. “We’re doing just fine.” He was gonna tell her he loved her and everything.

“That’s good to hear,” Karl said. “All right. I’m outta here. I’ll be back later this afternoon.”

Karl turned to go, then paused, and turned back. “Wait a minute. Did you say Dr. Traeger? Lamont Traeger?”

“Yeah,” Franklin said slowly. How did Karl know the doctor’s first name? Franklin hadn’t mentioned it, he was sure.

When Karl beckoned, Franklin walked to his side, then stared at the police charity ball poster Karl was pointing at.

Franklin was about to ask what Karl was going on about when he saw it.

There, at the bottom of the poster, in the fine print.

Dr. Traeger was listed as one of the sponsors of the ball.

Then Franklin read further.

Hell, the ball was gonna be out at Dr. Traeger’s estate. That Saturday night. Three nights from then.

No wonder that name had sounded so familiar.

Was that why the doctor had all those ghosts trapped in that blade? So he could make all those rich people young and healthy again?

Franklin was just gonna have to stop him. It weren’t right, him killing all those ghosts, stealing their peace.

But how?

Eight

JULIE ARRIVED RIGHT at seven. Pretty orange and pink clouds spread all the way across the horizon, and the edges were a deep red. Franklin had never considered leaving Kentucky, and sunsets like this one were part of the reason why.

He had everything prepared for Julie—the pasta, the sauce, the garlic bread—he’d even put flowers, wild red roses and white peonies on the kitchen table.

Julie took one look at it all and turned and walked right back out of the kitchen, out the front door.

Franklin hurried out after her.

She was wearing a tight purple T-shirt made of a silky material that Franklin liked to touch, with her good jeans, the ones that showed off her curves. So Franklin knew she’d been looking forward to the date.

“What’s wrong?” Franklin asked, coming up quietly behind Julie.

She stood on the edge of the front porch, looking out over the driveway and her old beater Ford.

“Just that,” Julie said. She waved one arm back toward the house, then wrapped them both tightly across her chest.

Were those tears in her eyes?

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Franklin said. He slowly slid his own arms around her from the back, watching carefully for any sign that he should stop.

“I just wanted to make you a nice dinner,” he added when she’d been quiet for a long moment.

“Now, Franklin Kanly, don’t be lying to me,” Julie scolded. “You had something else planned.”

Franklin wanted to make a joke about spending another long night together, but even he knew now wasn’t the time. “I’d been wanted to tell you how much you mean to me,” he admitted.

It somehow seemed easier, telling her like this, without having to look at her face, so Franklin continued.

“How much I love you, and want to be with you,” Franklin continued, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Just ’cause it were easier, didn’t make it easy.

Julie turned in Franklin’s arms and wrapped herself around him. She held on fiercely tight, and Franklin did the same.

She was crying.

He didn’t know what to do, except pet her hair and kiss her temple now and again, waiting out the storm.

“I went to see the doctor today. My gynecologist,” Julie said.

“That’s a woman’s doctor, right?” Franklin asked, wanting to make sure he understood.

He felt her nod against his wet shirt.

“Regular checkup. Except that it weren’t regular. They did an ultrasound. Said there’s something wrong with my cervix. Something blocking it.” Julie took a deep breath then let it out in a loud sigh. “Said if they can’t fix it, I might not ever be able to have kids.”

“You know I’ll love you anyway, right?” Franklin said.

Though he thought he’d said the right thing, Julie started crying again.

Franklin couldn’t help but get more tense. Had he said it wrong? Was he not supposed to say it?

“Oh you idiot,” Julie said, wrapping her arms more tightly around Franklin and holding on as he started to pull away. “I suspected you might say something like that. Or I hoped you would.”

“Course I would,” Franklin said. He weren’t the kind of man to leave a woman if she couldn’t have children. He didn’t know what they’d do. Would they adopt? Get some special surgery? He knew a woman in the next county who had other people’s kids for them. She used to come in to have Mama do her nails regularly.

But the pair of them would cross that bridge when they got there.

Julie sniffed and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. “You know I love you too, right?” she asked quietly.

“I was hoping you’d say something like that,” Franklin said.

That finally got him a smile.

“The doctor said he hadn’t seen anything like it before,” Julie said. “It’s why they want to give me more tests. It’s like the opening to my uterus got blocked off by extra skin.”

Franklin grew very still. “Julie, do you think it might have happened the night before? That blast from Doctor Traeger that healed us? Made us feel younger?”

Julie paused, then nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that. But you may be right. My period was supposed to start any day now. Now, it looks like I won’t be having any for a while.”

Franklin nodded, trying to put it all together. “So this doctor, he ain’t cheating death. He wants to beat it. Make everyone young and healthy all the time. He said something about no more death. And no more birth.” Franklin paused, then added, “That battlefield was just a test of how many souls he could raise at once. He’s throwing a charity ball, you know?”

Julie shook her head.

“That’s where I’d heard his name before. He’s gonna have a bunch of people at his place, people who have paid him a lot of money.”

“Then what’ll he do?” Julie asked. “Make them all young again?”

“More than that,” Franklin said. “He’s a doctor. He don’t want to just cheat death. He wants to beat it.” He was planning to subvert the natural process.

It just weren’t right.

“He’s stealing the lives of ghosts to do it,” Julie added.

“Which most folks wouldn’t mind,” Franklin pointed out. He’d mind, but most folks didn’t know better.

Julie looked back at him, surprised. “Really?”

Franklin shrugged. “They’re dead, right? They’ve had their chance. Why worry about the dead now?” It wasn’t how he felt, but he could already hear the commentators on the TV talking about it, how they’d justify what they was doing.

“People don’t know he’s stealing their souls with that blade,” Julie pointed out.

“Exactly,” Franklin said. “We got to get that blade away from him. Folks don’t always do the right thing, particularly when they don’t have all the facts.”

“I’ll help,” Julie said.

Franklin paused, then said, “Okay.”

Though he knew he was lying to her.

It wasn’t that he was gonna steal that blade back all by himself. No, he’d have help. But he weren’t about to do something that illegal with her. Or something that might be dangerous.

But Darryl would help. Hell, he might even be useful for once.

Ξ

Julie lay quietly in Franklin’s arms, but he knew she wasn’t sleeping. They’d had a real nice dinner, and a real nice afterwards, too.

“You think it would be that bad? Living forever?” Julie finally asked.

“That isn’t the problem,” Franklin said. “I wouldn’t mind living forever with you,” he added, kissing her temple. “But it seems like part of the price is that there won’t be anyone new. No births. Remember? Just those people who get made immortal. And, well, that would be it. That would be all the people there ever was.”

Julie nodded against his chest. “I think that would grow old,” she said.

He could hear the smile in her voice. He kissed her hair again.

Then he sighed, thinking about the consequences.

“No new kids. No new babies to smile at. No one to teach nothing to,” Franklin said, his voice growing hoarse with emotion. No new families.

“No Mother’s Day flowers. No princess tea parties in the backyard,” Julie continued.

No son to teach the proper methods of popping corn to. No daughter to be proud of and brag on.

Franklin would never know what it was like to be a dad. Since he’d never had one, not really, as his dad had died just after Franklin had been born, he’d always planned on being a really good dad, there all the time.

If the doctor won, Franklin would never have the chance.

“We’ll stop him,” Julie said curling up against Franklin’s side, her breath deepening into sleep.

Franklin stayed awake for a while longer, holding onto this precious time. He understood the temptation to stay just in one place. But wasn’t that what his duty was? To help ghosts—people—move along?

Doctor Traeger was planning on using that blade, that soul taker, to beat death.

Franklin was determined to not let the doctor win.

Ξ

Darryl showed up at Franklin’s house right after work, wearing his car mechanic’s uniform. Franklin wasn’t sure how much Darryl was getting done at the job with his arm still in a sling.

He expected Darryl wasn’t resting his arm like he should be. But Franklin weren’t his cousin May, and wasn’t about to harangue him about it. Plus, Darryl’s wife Gloria was likely to be giving Darryl an earful already.

Darryl didn’t look like he’d been working, though. Normally, he were covered in grease and Franklin always had to insist that he wash his hands. Twice.

“Got me up front, minding the register,” Darryl said after he’d changed into a gray, short-sleeved, button-up shirt and jeans. (Seemed a T-shirt was just too much trouble with his arm.)

“Bet that just makes your day,” Franklin said dryly.

Darryl shrugged. “It ain’t been too bad, actually,” he said.

Franklin wondered if Darryl’s own dark skin were hiding his blush.

“I don’t have much of a head for numbers, but I have been working inventory, making sure we actually have what we need for parts,” Darryl added, boasting.